June 27 (Reuters) - Sweden will be very much the underdogs when they take on France in the World Cup last 32 in New Jersey on Tuesday, but assistant coach Sebastian Larsson believes that a giant-killing display is not beyond his side, despite their rollercoaster results in recent years.
The Swedes finished bottom of their qualifying group and made the World Cup through the playoffs, beating Tunisia 5-1 in their first game before losing to the Netherlands by the same score and scraping into the knockout stage with a 1-1 draw with Japan and a third-placed finish in the group.
They will now take on a France side bristling with attacking talent who hammered Norway 4-1 in their final group game and are among the favourites to win the tournament.
"I don't think I need to say much about France. They have a couple of guys who are quite skilled," Larsson said. "We will have our challenges, but we are looking forward to it in a fantastic way."
Larsson, who scored the second goal in a 2-0 win over France at Euro 2012, won 133 caps for Sweden and is one of few survivors from the reign of Danish head coach Jon Dahl Tomasson, who was sacked last October after taking one point from their first four World Cup qualifiers.
SWEDEN CAN UPSET FRANCE, SAYS LARSSON
Larsson remained on the staff following the appointment of Graham Potter, who steered the Swedes to playoff wins over Ukraine and Poland to make the World Cup, and who now has to come up with a plan to beat the French.
"If you look back, we've managed to knock out bigger teams before, even if it's France this time. It gives me a certain amount of belief in things, definitely in me and hopefully in the players too," Larsson said.
"I hope they don't look forward to meeting us. But if they do, that's just how it is. I think there is a respect for us ... we still have players who can deliver very good things. For us it's about getting everything right, because that will be required."
With the likes of Kylian Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele in top form, it will take a lot for the Swedes to stop them.
"It'll be something to get our teeth into, but we're very much looking forward to the match," Larsson said.
(Reporting by Philip O'Connor, editing by Ed Osmond)
